39 U.S. Code § 3220 - Use of official mail in the location and recovery of missing children

(1)The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, after consultation with appropriate public and private agencies, shall prescribe general guidelines under which penalty mail may be used to assist in the location and recovery of missing children. The guidelines shall provide information relating to—

(A)the form and manner in which materials and information relating to missing children (such as biographical data and pictures, sketches, or other likenesses) may be included in penalty mail;

(B)appropriate sources from which such materials and information may be obtained;

(C)the procedures by which such materials and information may be obtained; and

(D)any other matter which the Office considers appropriate.

(2)Each executive department and independent establishment of the Government of the United States shall prescribe regulations under which penalty mail sent by such department or establishment may be used in conformance with the guidelines prescribed under paragraph (1).

(b)The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and the House Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards shall prescribe for their respective Houses rules and regulations, and shall take such other action as the Committee or Commission considers necessary and proper, in order that purposes similar to those of subsection (a) may, in the discretion of the congressional official or office concerned, be carried out by the use of franked mail sent by such official or office.

(c)As used in this section, “Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention” and “Office” each means the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention within the Department of Justice, as established by section 201 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974.

Section 201 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, referred to in subsec. (c), is section 201 ofPub. L. 93–415, which enacted section
5611 of Title
42, The Public Health and Welfare, and amended section
5108 of Title
5, Government Organization and Employees.

“(a) Guidelines.—The guidelines described in section
3220(a)(1) of title
39, United States Code, as added by this Act, shall be prescribed not later than ninety days after the date of the enactment of this Act (Aug. 9, 1985).

“(b) Rules and Regulations.—The regulations described in subsection (a)(2) ofsection
3220 of title 39, United States Code, as added by this Act, and the rules and regulations described in subsection (b) of such section, as so added, shall be prescribed not later than one hundred and eighty days after the date of the enactment of this Act (Aug. 9, 1985).”

Pub. L. 99–87, § 4,Aug. 9, 1985, 99 Stat. 292, provided that: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the authority provided by section
3220(b) of title
39, United States Code, as added by this Act, shall not be considered to be subject to the authority of any agency within the executive branch of the Government of the United States to coordinate programs relating to missing children.”